


Minimal Damage

by giggling_bubble



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma, Awkwardness, Bathing/Washing, Budding Love, Confusion, Desperation, Developing Relationship, F/M, Identity Reveal, Ladrien June, Prompt Fic, Shrinkage, Shyness, dollhouse - Freeform, forced situation, make due, overworked kwamis, unknown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2018-11-09 06:28:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11098815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggling_bubble/pseuds/giggling_bubble
Summary: Chat and Ladybug find themselves thrown into a 'little' domesticity. Turns out they'd completely disregarded the possibility that an akuma could cause the reveal for them. A quaint little bit of chaos.





	1. Chapter 1

The akuma stood menacingly at the end of the street. His hair was glowing a vibrant orange and he carried a giant magnifying glass.

"ANTS! You're all ants," he smiled as the sun glinted through the magnifying glass and shrunk people in it's beam. "And I'm The Minimizer! No need to fear, objects are larger than they appear!"

Ladybug landed on a nearby building and observed The Minimizer's antics. There was an unnerving pattern about his shrinking beams. He was only going after children and young adults.

Ladybug caught sight of Adrien running beneath her and couldn't let him be caught in a beam. Anything could happen to someone so small.

"Adrien, look out!" she shouted and tackled him to the ground.

"Ladybug?" There was unbridled awe in his voice and Ladybug blushed.

"Are y-you okay?" she asked, "Nothing injured?"

 _Did Ladybug just stutter? How adorable!_ "Uh, yeah, I think I'm fine."

"You need to get somewhere safe." She ducked behind a dumpster and gestured for him to keep walking down the alley. She hopped up to the roof, the yo-yo was poised at the ready to knock the magnifying glass off a different direction. It wasn't necessary. The akuma switched directions at the sound of the children shrieking behind their school. The teachers had ushered them out to run to safety, but the Akuma was too close.

A moment later, Chat landed next to her on the rooftop with a bow, "My Lady."

"There will be no more interruptions--no school bells, no recess, no screaming outside of my window. Children should be seen, not heard. If you are heard, you will no longer be seen! Do I make myself clear?" With that, he heard a child scream in terror and he zapped it with his magnifying glass.

"Hey, now, minimus," Chat trolled, "Paw-lease enlighten meown the hisstory you have with children."

"Seriously, Chat? That was a bit excessive."

"You think it was too much, LB?" he grinned, "Here I thought it was a purrfect fit with my current cattitude."

She rolled her eyes and groaned, "Stop. I can't concentrate." Ladybug turned her attention to The Minimizer, who had been talking for a while.

"Stop, rewind, repeat!" Chat shouted, "We were having some pun-believable exchanges over here."

The Minimizer growled, "GIVE ME YOUR MIRACULOUS!"

"Never!" Ladybug exclaimed, "If Hawk Moth wants my miraculous he'd better come and try to get it himself."

"Fine," the minimizer smiled and before either one of them were aware the beam from his magnifying glass glanced over the top of them both.

"SHIIIIIT!!!" Chat exclaimed as he jumped towards Ladybug, who was also shrinking.

With an audible 'POP' they were shrunk. Only, not just shrunk.

"PLAGG?!?!" Adrien exclaimed in shock.

Marinette stood frozen, naked, staring at an equally naked Adrien Agreste...in shock. "Oh my God!!!" she exclaimed.

He turned to look at her, but she grabbed her large miraculous earrings and held them in front of her like shields; one up top and one down below.

Tikki giggled, "Looks like we have a little bit of a situation, Plagg."

"Tikki?!" Marinette squeaked, "What the hell was that?"

"You got hit by the beam from the akuma," Tikki grinned, "You're so CUTE!"

Marinette was NOT impressed nor pleased. It might have been the scowl, or the red face, or perhaps the growl that gave her away.

Plagg grinned, "You're even smaller than me!"

Adrien, in his panic, darted into his ring to hide his lower half in a crouch. "Uh...Marinette?" 

"Yeah?" She squeaked.

"You're...you're, uh..."

"Guilty," she blushed, "And you are...Chat."

They just nodded at each other, jaws gaping. If Adrien being Chat Noir hadn't been such a shock she might have passed out from seeing him in all his naked glory.

"We can't leave you here," Tikki exclaimed and dove to grab Marinette, "Hold onto your miraculous. We're going home."

"Hey, where am I taking him?"

"Bring him and follow me," Tikki yelled, "I have an idea."

Plagg dove down and swept Adrien and his miraculous up into the air, "Come with me, kid. We've got some brain storming to do."

Tikki led Plagg through the open hatch of Marinette's room and to her closet, which was thankfully cracked, and inside.

"What are we doing in my closet, Tikki?" Marinette had no idea what her kwami was playing at, but this was NOT where she'd imagined Tikki would have taken them. "What about Master Fu? Couldn't he do something?"

"No," Plagg shook his head dismally, "Only you have the power to fix this, Ladybug. Nice to meet you, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Marinette nodded, "I'm Marinette."

"I'm Plagg."

"Adrien, I'm Marinette's kwami, Tikki. Nice to meet you, too."

"Nice to meet you," he whispered from the swing like cradle of his miraculous, still within Plagg's grasp.

"Where are we going with these two? He's getting heavy," Plagg whined.

"Here," Tikki flew over to what Marinette immediately recognized as her doll house from when she was a little girl. She'd pushed it into the corner of her closet because Manon hadn't been over for a while to play with it. Tikki gently laid Marinette in front of it and brought her a doll blanket to cover up with. Marinette wrapped it around herself thankfully.

"The doll house?" Marinette stared at Tikki incredulously. "What are we supposed to do here?"

"Until we can come up with a better plan? Live in it."

"Uh," Adrien peeked out of his ring, which Plagg had now dropped next to Marinette. He held his miraculous around his waist and it resembled a heavyweight wrestling belt, only solid. He barely fit within the middle of it as his hips touched the sides. It was heavy so he had spread his legs to brace it up with his knees. "Is there another one of those by any chance?"

Tikki flew up into the second floor and brought another blanket, "Here you go!"

"Thank you," he blushed. The ring dropped with a 'clank' as he wrapped the blanket around him. "This is unreal."

"This can't be happening," Marinette dropped to a crouch, "It can't be happening. I'm going to wake up and this is going to be an awful dream. I'm not going to be five inches tall, there's not going to be an akuma attacking children, and Adrien is not going to be Chat."

"HEY! What's wrong with me being Chat?" he asked offended.

"It's just...you're you...and the puns," she was pressing her palms into her eyes hard enough to see stars, "He _flirts_ with me and you don't even look at me that way. It's not real." There were tears threatening to leak out from behind her eyes.

Adrien frowned, "What's not real?"

"Nothing. Just...don't," she whispered and stood up swiftly, "Let's go find clothes to wear and drop it."

She turned on the spot and sprinted into the doll house. Adrien tried to follow, but she'd already darted up the stairs. He was confused with what she'd said about him flirting with her. Did she not know how much she meant to him? Regardless of whether or not she was Ladybug or Marinette, he loved her. He'd have to find a way to let her know. Just knowing she was Marinette, and sat behind him every day, made his heart swell. She'd been with him for all of his milestones in school. She was one of his best friends already. This was an amazing girl that was only MORE amazing now that he was aware of how well he knew her. Knowing she was Marinette only added a sudden immense depth to Ladybug's personality and he couldn't be more attracted to her if he'd tried.

"Are you okay?" her soft voice asked. Adrien had dropped to sit on one of the stairs. His breath was coming in pants as the knowledge of who Ladybug was really hit him.

Marinette hadn't had the chance to accept that Chat was Adrien, yet. She was still in the mission mind set. Survival mode!

"Uh, yeah," he nodded.

Instantly, Marinette was shy, though, "I found you something to wear." She handed him a pair of draw string pants she'd made for her dolls. He slipped into them and cinched them down. They actually fit pretty well.

Marinette found a spandex tube dress that she was able to slip into effortlessly. They'd have to forego underwear seeing as dolls didn't really wear it. She sighed and decided she'd have to start making doll underwear now just in case something like this were to ever happen again; if she could figure out how to be big again. She'd had to strip down the two dolls in the house because there weren't any other clothes here. The only other clothes she had were locked in a suitcase up on the top shelf in the closet.

"These will have to do," she sighed, "And it's all we have."

"It's great, Marinette," he said softly, "Thank you."  He was Adrien now. Definitely not Chat.

She hopped up the stairs back to the bedroom and flopped down on the little doll bed. It was the equivalent of a twin. They rarely had both dolls sleeping at the same time anyway. At least it was stuffed well. It wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as she'd feared it would be. The fabric could be softer, however. Marinette found a large piece of felt and draped it across the top. "There."

"That'll be awfully hot," Tikki observed.

"It feels like sleeping on straw otherwise," Marinette shrugged. "I can always sleep naked."

"With Chat?"

Marinette's face paled, "You think he'll...and I...?" It was then that Adrien being Chat really hit Marinette and hard. She collapsed onto the bed. "Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. This can't be happening. He can't be. They can't be. It's...no. It's not _possible_." Marinette held her hands in front of her face, making a cup against her lips, and breathed heavily, "Chat  _is_ Adrien."

"Figured that out, huh?"

A voice, his voice, spoke from behind her. Marinette felt the bed dip, but she didn't open her eyes.

"Is it really that bad?" he asked. She could hear the vulnerable fear in his voice.

"No," she whispered through her fingertips, "I-It's not. It's ju-just a lot t-to take in, you know?"

Adrien buried his face in his hands as he hoped it wouldn't always be this awkward. He also noticed she was stuttering again. "Do you want me to leave?" he asked gently.

"NO!" she said a little too quickly, "No. You're fine. I'm a mess. I'm always a mess with you. I mean, just a mess. You're great."

He chuckled, "I can't believe you're Ladybug." Seeing her as an awkward stuttering mess only made it seem so much more surreal, "You're always so confident when I'm Chat." He reached over to grab her forearm, "Do you hate me, Marinette?"

"HATE YOU!?!?! No, I could never hate you," she sighed exasperatedly. She wanted to turn and yell at him that she loved him, but couldn't. This wasn't the time or the place. "I'm hungry. Let's have the kwamis get us something to eat. Are you hungry?"

"Uh, yeah, I could eat," he nodded, still a little baffled. If she didn't hate him then why did she treat him so differently? He really _really_ liked her, before as Marinette, and he loved Ladybug. He had to know if he were to ever get her to feel the same way about him. It was imperative that he convince Marinette to love him. He knew he couldn't live his life without her in it; permanently, essentially. She was the single most important human influence in his life. It wasn't worth living without her.

She stood up to call, "TIKKI!?!?" Tikki zipped into the house. Marinette fell backwards and Adrien caught her just before impact. He fell to kneeling and she was lying across his lap. Her face ignited into a fiery blush, "Thanks, Adrien." Marinette brushed herself off and looked at Tikki, "We need something to eat. It's getting about time to eat lunch and we're hungry."

"What would you like? We're kind of limited," she frowned.

Plagg groaned, "How about we just grab the green stuff the humans eat and call it good."

"Green stuff?"

"He's referring to salad," Adrien sighed, "He didn't know what a salad was until he found me. Apparently, the last chosens didn't eat 'feed.'"

"They fed it to pigs," Plagg shouted, "It's not fit for consumption...unless you're a pig."

"Oink," Adrien taunted. Marinette burst into giggles and Adrien smiled. He loved her laugh.

Tikki returned with a thimble and a glider for heavy furniture.

"It's the best I could find on short notice," she shrugged. Then Plagg dropped a grape, a sprig of broccoli, and a chunk of cheddar between the two of them on the furniture glider.

"I guess we're sharing this for dinner," Marinette gestured obligingly to the saucer with a polite nod.

Adrien playfully wafted the sprig of broccoli with a flourish, "My Lady."

"My kindest Chaton," she eagerly tore a couple balls off of the end. They were roughly the size of brussel sprouts. Enthusiastically, she shoved one in her mouth and chewed, "Oh, my God! That was a bad idea." She scrunches up her nose and begins laughing. Adrien joined in as her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk.

He grabbed the grape in both of his hands, holding it gingerly in front of his chest, before busting up laughing, "Now how are we supposed to eat this? It's the size of my head!"

Marinette crawled over to where he was sitting and inspected the grape. She flipped it over to where it had been connected to a stem. "There," she grinned, "I'd guess we eat it through there."

"How?" he questioned turning it over in his hands. It was hefty, with a solid weight of a medicine ball, but with a fine sandpaper feel to the outside. The skin is surprisingly thick when you're less than six inches tall. "Uh..." he laughed nervously.

Marinette then bravely stuck her hand into the hole and pulled out a gob of sticky grape goodness. Without a second thought she shoved it right into Adrien's open mouth. He stared back at her, utterly gobsmacked, that she'd gone and shoved a handful of goo into his face without so much as a hesitation. Her giggles poured out and melted into teary hysterics. Her gasps became coughs as she tried to regain her composure. "I'm s-s-sorry, Adri-en."

"I don beweef you," he mumbled around the dripping grape guts. The liquid was pouring down his chin. He grinned afterwards and got a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Come 'ere," he gurgled.

She knew it was going to be bad. It was as she deserved, however, so she scooted closer, "I'm sorry. I said I was sorry," she pleaded. "Adrien..."

He took a handful of the mush and then shoved it into her face. Marinette hadn't opened her mouth, but he held his hand against her mouth until she opened it. Some of it had worked it's way up into her nose which she pinched to clear. Luckily, his handful was much smaller than hers had been, bless him. "It's actually not bad," she nodded with a smirk.

"Want to feed me again," he grinned and opened his mouth like a baby bird would. "Ah-ah-ah!"

"Come here, you," she reached in and grabbed another handful to shove in his mouth. It was smaller this time. This was the playful banter she'd expect from her partner, Chat.

She gasped as he caught her hand in his free one and held it there. That mischievous glint was back as he held it to his mouth and sucked the juices off of her fingers. If he'd had _any_ idea what that was doing to her he'd have never done such a thing. Marinette felt her insides turn to mush and repressed a moan. Then he stuck his tongue out and began to lick her palm clean, very much like a cat, and it tickled a lot. She began to squirm uncontrollably in his grip, "Aaah! Stop, Adrien, stop! That tickles!"

"This?" he smiled and began licking between her fingers.

"Ewww, you're getting spit all over me, kitty," she wriggled. "Cooties!"

"Wait, wait," he mumbled over her hand, "Almost clean...and done." One last noisy slurp.

She pulled her hand away, pointed her finger at him, and scowled playfully, "That was unsanitary. I will get you back."

"I'm sure," he grinned smugly, "I look forward to it."

They managed to eat the insides of the grape and squeezed what was left of the juice into the thimble.

"Ladies first," he bowed.

"Thank you, Chaton," she grinned. "This has actually been pretty fun so far."

Adrien couldn't stop staring at the girl sitting across from him; definitely ladybug. Her little hands wrapped around the thimble as she lifted it to pour the juices into her mouth. The problem? She was too small.

She looked embarrassed, "I'm too little."

He stared at her, "For what?"

"Uh, to lift it," she tried putting her arm down the length of the thimble, but it wobbled precariously as she tried to tip it up. "I could try using my feet."

Adrien, being the gentleman that he was, rushed over to her, "No, no, allow me." He grabbed the bottom of the thimble and lifted it gently, "You guide it."

Eventually, they managed to get Marinette a drink without dropping the thimble or drowning her. SUCCESS!! Then it was Adrien's turn. Marinette did the same service of lifting the end of the thimble for him to get a drink.

"Just think, we're eighteen years old and it takes two of us to get a drink," Marinette laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

He grinned, "Even so, this is the best date I've ever been on." He immediately backtracked at her gasp, "N-not that it's a date, since I've never really been on one so I wouldn't know. I'm just s-saying you're the best dinner date, uh, companion. Lord, I'm rambling."

Marinette couldn't stop the giggles that erupted. Her hysterics melded into gasps before she saw the hurt look on his face. Her laughter diminished into tiny titters as she crawled over to rub a hand against his back in a soothing, understanding manner. "Oh, puddin' paws, I'm not laughing at you. That's my line. It's strange to see you stuttering and rambling. Piece of advice? Just give up," she snickered again, "Although, you make it adorable."

He turned to face her with the largest smile, "I've always thought you were adorable. Still do." She gulped. His smile softened, "Could this be a date, Marinette? I don't expect it to be an actual date date, but I've never really had an opportunity and I'd hate to waste it."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. He really did have a lonely existence as a civilian. Adrien was one of the greatest human beings she'd had the privilege of knowing and he was Chat; her selfless, brave, flirtatious kitty. "I've never been on a date, either. I'd sort of been hoping you'd ask me on one for a while. I'd like nothing more."

"I'd like that a lot," he swallowed thickly with emotion and then cleared his throat bashfully and wrapped an arm around her, "We really got ourselves into a feline mess, eh, bug?"

"I'm kind of hoping to find that out." Her eyebrows waggled seductively before breaking into laughter.

"The key is keeping a straight face so you convey sincerity," he smirked.

"I am sincere," she faked affront, "You just wait. You're playing with fire, kitty."

"I'm not afraid, Maribug." The serious tone sobered her up. This boy was too much.

They sat around afterwards for a few minutes, just talking about how ridiculous a situation they'd managed to get themselves into and how their friends would never believe them. It had only been a couple hours before Marinette began to squirm.

"Uh, we might have overlooked one minor detail," she whined, "I have to pee."

Adrien's eyes widened before he sighed in relief, "I'm glad I'm not the only one. I've been holding my bladder for like half an hour."

"What are we going to do? TIKKI?!"

Tikki popped up to find the two of them squirming slightly, "Yes, Marinette?"

"We both have to go to the bathroom."

Tikki's shrill giggle caught her off guard, "Okay, Marinette. Come with me." Then she shouted, "PLAGG! Your kitten needs to urinate."

Adrien blushed profusely. Tikki didn't sugar coat it for his self-preservation or anything, did she?

Plagg appeared next to him, "Come on. I heard you needed to take a piss."

Okay, so Adrien stood corrected. Tikki had sugar coated it.

The kwamis flew both of their charges to the potted plants on Marinette's balcony.

"Seriously?" she whined, "Tikki, I'll never be able to look at these flowers the same way again."

"Where else would you like me to take you? The toilet? You could get your bath out of the way at the same time, I suppose," she tittered.

"Uh...no. This is fine." Although, now Marinette was thinking about a bath. After that akuma battle earlier, and the prompt shrinkage onto the nasty asphalt of Paris, she was feeling a little riper than usual.

When they were through relieving themselves, the kwamis returned them to their little 'love house,' as they were affectionately referring to it, though they would never tell Marinette or Adrien the nickname.

"Tikki? You mentioned a bath earlier. Is there any way we could...?"

"Get a bath?" Tikki finished, "Plagg and I have been discussing that. We had discussed the bathroom sink, but the drain is too risky."

Marinette winced at the idea of being sucked down a faulty drain. Hers had a particularly nasty habit of becoming unplugged. She knew not getting that fixed sooner would come back to bite her.

"I suggested the bird bath," Plagg gestured outside. There was a concrete basin Marinette had filled with water, last week, for the birds.

"Thanks, Plagg, but I don't think that would help us out," Marinette grimaced, but reminded herself to change that water ASAP.

"We only have one other option. It'll be difficult, with the weight of water and how small Plagg and I are." Tikki and Plagg lugged up a coffee cup and set it next to Marinette. Then she found a dixie cup and smiled, "I could fill a few of these to run you a bath." Her small smile was apologetic.

"Thank you both." Marinette did appreciate the effort Tikki and Plagg were putting out to help them. She turned to Adrien. "I guess I could take one first..."

Plagg rolled his eyes, "Yeah, make my kid take a bath in dirty water."

"No, she means first--" Adrien went to explain.

"Adrien, we're too small. We're only going to do this once," Tikki elaborated.

"We're not small. They're small. We're just small-ish," Plagg elaborated.

"Oh," Adrien glanced to Marinette and then back to the kwamis.

Marinette looked down at her feet bashfully, her face going beet red, before shrugging, "I suppose we could share."

Adrien's eyes widened, "Are you sure?" This whole situation was instantly ten times more intimidating. _Is the air getting thick all of a sudden?_

"I don't see why not. I've already seen you naked."

"You did not!" He gasped in disbelief.

She looked away to avoid eye contact. "I did."

"Did not." _Denial_.

"You're circumcised, Adrien," she said flatly.

 _Oh God._ He shifted from side to side and pouted, "My father insisted. It was the fashionable thing to do."

She holds her hands up passively and grasps his forearms, "I'm not judging you, okay? I'm just saying we've seen each other so it's not a big deal."

"Yeah," he nodded. He couldn't look at her anyway. This was mortifying. They weren't really familiar with each other in that way, or anything, and a bath was a damn intimate situation to share.

"When did you get to be so shy, anyway?" Marinette was nervous, but not nearly as nervous as Adrien, it seemed. They'd already seen each other naked. He was Chat for Pete's sake. This was just a drop in the bucket...literally. Plus, there was _no way_ she was going to let him roam around smelling rank. Especially, if he gets to watch her bathe and come out smelling clean.

"I'm not shy! _Usually_ ," he mumbled.

She grinned. Sure. His obvious embarrassment was kind of endearing. In fact, it made her feel braver. "You saw me, didn't you?"

"Uh," he looks away bashfully, "Not really. I was kind of too shocked to..."

She nods decisively. "Then let's just consider this a way of making it even," she smirks as she strips off her dress and tosses it to him. She giggles at his sudden blush. "Come on. Let's go. You know you need one and the kwamis are only giving us the one to share."

Gazing at the bare, well-developed body of his Lady did things to him that he was _pawsitive_ he didn't want her to see right now _._ He walked over to the porcelain cup and leaned against the side. It sent a cool chill through him; that helped some. She scurried up the double holed handle of the mug and dropped inside.

"Tikki!" Marinette called. As if on cue, Tikki and Plagg came flying in with a dixie cup full of relatively hot water. They dropped it gently on the table.

"You have to get in, too, kid. You're filthy," Plagg drawled, "Or you can never complain about the smell of camembert ever again."

Adrien gritted through his teeth, "I can't." He fixed a pointed look at the kwami who became suspicious.

"Why not?" Plagg was eager to get to the bottom of this fascinating turn of events. They'd already discussed he was getting a bath. What was with the back and forth?

"I have a problem," he whispered rigidly.

"What kind of problem?" The jovial glint in Plagg's eyes struck genuine fear into Adrien, but he knew that if he didn't acquiesce that he'd have manhandled him into a confession. This particular one wouldn't require any speaking.

Adrien pulled away slightly from the cup and glanced down.

Plagg began to cackle mischievously, "That's so cute! Boy can't take a bath because he's afraid of a little inflammation."

"SHHH!" he hissed, "Plagg."

Marinette was sitting in the cup now waiting for Adrien to join her when she heard Plagg. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"You're too attractive for his reactive disposition," Plagg gasped between bursts of laughter.

She sat there confused for a moment before everything clicked. Oh. OH! Adrien was sporting an erection because of _her?_ Okay, perhaps she could have toned down the strip show. "It's fine, Adrien," she called, "I'll turn around."

He whined pitifully, "I'm feline a little embarrassed."

"Don't be," she whispered, "We can't do much about our situation right now. I don't know how to fix it. If we can fix it." She cringed at the dismal resignation in her voice.

"Okay." She heard him shimmy out of his draw strings and his head popped up over the side of the cup.

She closed her eyes and turned around. He dropped into the cup behind her and grabbed her shoulders, "Thanks."

"No problem," she nodded. "Tikki!"

It was only a few moments later before Plagg and Tikki came to pour the dixie cup full of water into the cup. Marinette leaned back against Adrien's chest to catch some water on the top of her head. She'd mostly forgotten about Adrien's issue until he grabbed her hips and held her away from him. "You can lean your head back," he whispered, "But you might want to stay a little further forward."

She nodded, "Yeah." Her feet splashed absently in the bottom of the cup while they waited for the kwamis to return with another dixie cup full of water. "You know it's not your fault, right? I'm not going to hold it against you."

"That's my line," he chuckled.

Adrien's sharp intake of breath was audible as Marinette quickly turned to face him, "I don't care, Adrien." Which was a lie, she did care, but she didn't dislike the idea. Obviously. They'd manage to get through it.

He nodded, "Okay." To prove he was in agreement, he stepped forward and hissed at the contact. _She hasn't punched me, yet._ After the hit he feared never came he let out his shaky breath.

"See, we're both alive," she wrapped her arms around his torso and shivered, "And cold. Thank, God, you didn't make me wait much longer while you had a personal crisis."

By this point, Adrien was aware she was shaking like a leaf and shook his head knowingly; of course she had an ulterior motive. He wasn't complaining. The skin-to skin contact with her was electrifying. He wrapped his arms around her and began rubbing his hands up and down her arms to warm her, "I'm sure they're on their way." And as if on cue, Tikki and Plagg reappeared with a dixie cup full of even warmer water than the first.

Marinette kept her head ducked against his chest, "Aaah, that's better." She felt him twitch against her and smirked as his body tensed, "Don't be embarrassed. Try to relax, Adrien."

He let out a breath and huffed, "Promise this stays just between us?"

She nodded and chuckled, "Quite literally. If you'll do the same."

"Done," he sighed, "This is ridiculous."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "If I told you having your erection pressed against me turned me on would it make you feel better about having one?"

He pulled away to look at her, his eyes wide, "Does it?" He had to know. She couldn't say something like that and then stop.

She bit her lip shyly, "Would it make you feel better?"

He pouted and whined, "Mari?!"

"Yes, okay," she huffed, "Honestly, regardless of how you feel about it. You're pretty easy on the eyes. It doesn't hurt your cause one bit. I have hormones just like anyone else."

"I think you like me. You think I'm sexy. You want to touch me," he sang.

"Shut up, you silly cat," she growled.

Then he dropped his voice and sang, "I think I like you. I think you're sexy. I want to touch you...better?"

Marinette's eyes shot upwards to meet his just as another dixie cup of water came pouring down into her face. She was spluttering for more reasons than the one as Adrien gave her a smug grin.

"May I kiss you?" he grinned adoringly down at her. She could feel his thumbs rubbing against her ribs on her back.

Her eyes gazed into his before she gave the slightest of nods, "Uh-huh."

He leaned down to catch her lips. Their chins tilted naturally away from each other to avoid bumping noses. Marinette was caught off guard by the soft, contented hum that vibrated through the contact. Adrien was a vocal kisser and she squeaked in response. It was gentle and short, but when they broke apart their eyes conveyed a promise of additional opportunities when they weren't freezing and naked. Neither knew how to classify their relationship at that moment, but they were in agreement that it had just crossed a line into something more than 'friends.'

"Let's sit," she whispered as she noticed the cup was full up to their waists. She plopped down and called to Tikki, "Could we have some soap, please?"

Plagg perched himself on the side of the cup and dropped what looked like a giant piece of soap, in comparison to their size, but it was just a nub of what was left of Marinette's bath bar in her shower. "Already on it."

"Thank you, Plagg," she cooed.

He leaned down and rubbed his forehead against her own in a nuzzle, "Don't be dumb, Adrien. This girl's the real deal."

"Aww, you're sweet," Marinette squealed.

Adrien knew what that motion meant and stared up at Plagg. That nuzzle was his way of showing affection for her and it was monumental, in particular, coming from his kwami. Plagg didn't even nuzzle Adrien very often. Usually when he was feeling extremely down.

"Keep her," Plagg grumbled as he hopped away.


	2. Chapter 2

Bathing had been a bit of a fiasco, they'd both admit. After they'd both sufficiently scrubbed, they climbed out so the kwamis could empty the mug, one dixie cup at a time, and dump it. Then they returned to rinse their charges with clean water.

Once they were done, Marinette and Adrien hopped out of the mug and dried off with the rags Tikki had procured from under Marinette's bathroom sink. They were brand new and extra soft. It was like being wrapped in a thick comforter.

"Could we have another one, Tikki?" Marinette asked, "I'd like to have an additional just in case."

"You don't want to sit in a wet rag."

Marinette blushed and big her lip, "Not at all."

"Me, neither," Adrien wrinkled his nose.

Tikki came back with a rag and a sheepish expression, "Marinette, this is all I could find." She held a single hand towel between her nubs and shrugged, "It's big enough for two."

Marinette glanced over at Adrien who wore a matching blush, "Adrien?"

He shrugged, "We've already crossed that bridge."

"Right," she nodded and took the hand towel graciously, "Thank you, Tikki."

"Well, looks like sharing a bed will be the least of our worries," Marinette chuckled as she sat wrapped up in the towel. Tikki had taken their clothes and dropped them into the dixie cup with the piece of soap. She'd gone to washing them while the kids sat shivering on the periphery.

"I guess," Adrien grinned, "Unless our clothes aren't dry by then."

Marinette's eyes widened in horror. Yeah, that was a legitimate concern that she'd completely overlooked.

"Not that we haven't already tackled that problem," he cleared his throat nervously.

Marinette wrapped her wet rag back around her waist, stood up, and excused herself, "I'm going to go and see if there's any articles I never got put away. I doubt it, but it's worth a shot, right?"

Adrien decided to help her scrounge through the little house to find anything that might work, too. They managed to find a little plastic shoe and a sock.

"What good would that do? We have two feet," Marinette grumbled.

"Well, I could wear it, but I wouldn't wear it on my foot." Adrien smirked and a gurgled squeak came out of Marinette. Chat. That was definitely Chat.

"No," she finally spluttered as her brain caught up. He had a silly grin on his face and she turned away from him quickly, "PLEASE tell me you did _not_ put on that sock."

"I can _tell_ you that," he chuckled.

"ADRIEN!?" she whined, "I'll have to burn that sock."

"I didn't," he blurted quickly, "I didn't. I'm just pulling your leg." He bit his lip and giggled. _No. Not going to make that joke._

"As long as that's all you're pulling," she mumbled. Then Marinette whipped to look at him with her hand clapped over her mouth. The blush ran clear up to the tips of her ears.

 _Okay, so she's going to make a joke._ He broke into laughter.

"I can't believe I said that," she groaned in mortification, "That was such a Chat joke, but you didn't say anything, and it was just silent. I couldn't help it. It just slipped out."

"I tend to have that problem," he giggled.

"STOP! I can't believe you," she pouted. "Penis jokes aren't funny. It's just so _hard_ not to..."

Adrien lost it, shaking with hysterics. He smacked his thigh with a hand and begged for mercy, "No more, Mari. No more. I can't breathe," he gasped.

"We're awful people," she grumbled before she began to laugh through her nose, attempting to contain her laughter.

"We've earned it, I think," he wiped the tears from his eyes and shook some more with residual chuckles, "I never knew you were so funny."

"You don't know that me that well, Adrien. Not as Marinette, anyway."

He sobered instantly, "It's a shame, you know? We wasted so much time."

"Yeah, well, that's my fault," she shrugged, "I'm not going to say I regret it entirely."

"And now?"

"I don't regret finding out, if that's what you mean," she sighed.

"I'm glad," he nodded and smiled, "Me, neither." He reached over, to where she was digging through one of her doll's toy chests for clothes, and grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, "Neither do I. I do regret not finding out sooner, though. You're amazing, Mari."

They got back to their towel and burrowed back into the dry warmth. Tikki took the wet rags to hang up and dry.

"Would you like your cell phone?" Tikki asked upon her return.

"My cell phone?" Marinette quirked her head in puzzlement and then exclaimed excitedly, "YES! Tikki! Bring me my cell phone!"

Tikki retrieved her cell phone and dropped it into the bedroom of the doll house. It propped up nicely against the wardrobe. Marinette ran over to it and unlocked the screen.

"I'm going to send a text to Alya to tell her that we're okay," she glanced at Adrien who was frowning. "What's wrong?"

"My cell phone is still in my room on my desk."

Plagg gazed between the now glaring Tikki and puppy dog eyed Adrien. Plagg pointedly glared and sighed, "All right, but you owe me big--extra chin scratches and the good stuff."

"Done!" Adrien nodded excitedly, "I'll even massage your ears."

"You bet you will," he grumbled as he flew out the window.

"I'm going to, uh, go help," Tikki giggled and chased after Plagg.

Marinette sat there in front of her phone, the message typed out.

To Alya: Got your messages. Adrien and I got caught in that magnifying glass akuma. Don't know when we'll be big again. The news said Ladybug and Chat Noir were hit, too.

A reply came back almost instantly.

To Marinette: GIRL! You are with Adrien? Call me...NOW!

Marinette grimaced and looked over at Adrien, "Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," he shrugged, "It's not like we can change anything. She won't know anything."

Marinette pushed the green dial button on the video call. Alya answered on the other end...and she was tiny, too. So was Nino. They were each wearing socks.

"DUDE!!!" Nino exclaimed, staring back at Marinette and Adrien's tiny forms on the other side of the screen.

"NO WAY!!" Alya shrieked. "This is too good," she cackled.

Marinette glowered, "It's not funny, Alya."

Adrien waved, "Crazy how things work out, huh?"

Nino just stared, "This is unreal. Where are you guys?"

"Marinette's doll house," Adrien grinned, "I was at the bakery when the akuma hit."

"I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours, dude," Nino lamented.

"I, uh, left my phone downstairs. We're going to try to get it soon," he glanced over to Marinette.

Alya clapped her hands together excitedly, "So...Adrien. You've seen my girl's rocking bod now, huh?"

"ALYA!?" Marinette whined.

Adrien smirked and nodded appreciatively, "Oh yeah."

"Marinette, does that mean you've seen Adrien's uh..." she jerked her head forward to allude to a particular location.

Her face flushed scarlet and she burrowed into the hand towel against said naked boy's side.

"I'd take that as a yes," Alya snickered.

"Dude, you realize you've ruined Mari for every other guy in the history of the world, right?" Nino playfully complained. "Alya, you don't even understand how broken she is. I've seen him and there's not a single piece that's not perfect, if you know what I mean."

Marinette whined loudly at that.

"That sounds creepy coming from you," Adrien mumbled embarrassed. He impulsively wrapped an arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Just own it, bro. Trust me."

"Look, I don't think that's true, at all," Adrien grumbled.

"It's true," the muffled response came from the towel next to him and the two on the other end of the line smiled. "I'm ruined. I don't even want to date or marry at all. Ever. I'll just crawl into a hole and die a slow agonizing death."

"Don't be so melodramatic," Adrien chuckled and squeezed the lump that was Marinette huddled next to him, "Or exaggerate."

Alya smirked to herself. Marinette was cracking jokes after seeing Adrien in all his glory--she'd be okay. "So, girl, what are you guys doing in the mean time until Ladybug figures out how to fix this?"

"I don't know," Marinette peeped her head back up out of the blanket, "Didn't you see the news? She was hit. She might not be able to fix it."

"Don't say that," Alya whined, "I have so much to live for. I can't be small forever."

"We won't be," Adrien chimed in, "Ladybug will figure it out. She'll fix it, I know she will." He gave Marinette a nod of encouragement.

"I kind of like this, though," Nino mused aloud, "My cell phone might as well be a sound system and a big screen in one. I mean, how awesome is that?"

"You have a great point. I think we should enjoy your small sizes while our parents don't know any better," Alya waggled her eyebrows at Nino, "Perhaps we could share a sock."

"Uh, bye guys. Gotta go!" Nino reached forward and the call ended.

Marinette looked over to Adrien and they shared an affronted expression. The nerve?!

"I guess we could watch a movie," Marinette shrugged, "I have Netflix."

"Netflix and chill?" he smirked.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed, "No, you crazy cat. Just the Netflix. If you need to chill I'm sure I could convince Plagg to drop you off in the deep freeze."

"Oooh, no thank you. Do you not remember? I've had that experience already."

"Yes," she nodded, "I remember."

"Did I ever tell you I was de-transformed the entire time I was in the freezer?"

"NO!!!" she gasped, "How did that happen?!"

"My ring flew off when Wifi threw me in there. I just about froze to death without the suit."

"I'm so glad you didn't," she stretched up to rest her head on his shoulder, "So...Netflix?"

"Sure," he chuckled. They settled on The Proposal.

"I love this movie," she grinned.

His arm dropped from her shoulder to around her waist as they leaned back against the bed, "Me, too. It's kind of funny, though."

"What is?"

"That we're sitting here, naked, sharing a towel watching a movie where the two main characters end up naked together because she's looking for a towel," he chuckled, "Just the similarity is humorous."

"The situation is so different, though."

"Yeah?" He pulled back to look down at her, an eyebrow quirked with his curiosity.

"Yeah," she nodded, "I mean, we like each other. Well, I like you, anyway. I guess you don't necessarily...never mind."

Adrien chuckled; his face splitting into a huge grin and his eyes crinkling. He squeezed her against him and kissed the top of her head, "You're too adorable, _Bugaboo_. I do like you. A lot. I, uh...I actually love you!"

"Y-you do?" she glanced up to see him gazing on her adoringly.

"Of course." He gulped and glanced away bashfully, "I mean, I've kind of had a crush on you for a while."

Marinette gasped, "YOU HAVE?!?!"

"Yes," he cleared his throat nervously, "Big time. I have a huge Ladybug collection, as well."

"Well, then I have a confession to make. I've, um, had a crush on you for a long time, too."

"No," he jerked his head her direction. Marinette, the girl who insufferably stuttered through every conversation and avoided him like the plague, liked him? "Tell me you're joking..."

"Do you want me to lie or tell you I'm obsessed with you? You can't have it both ways."

"Marinette!!?!!?" he squeezed her repeatedly and shook her excitedly, "Do you know what this means?!"

"What?" she was kind of floating by this point. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir loved Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. Adrien loved Marinette. _Adrien loves me_.

"Will you go out on a date with me? Once this mess is worked out? Let me take you out to a nice restaurant and a movie. I want to buy you things and dote on you."

She gazed at him slack jawed before she shook her head to clear it, "Uh, yeah. Yes. I would love that."

"We'll go slow," he nodded with a wink.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if we should ever reproduce," he smirked, "Two dum-dums like us are probably a bad combination."

"I wasn't thinking that far ahead."

"See," he smiled, "You just made my point."

She reached over and punched him in the shoulder, "Jerk!"

He laughed maniacally, "Sometimes."

"I think the results might be cute, though," she mused persuasively, "My jet black hair and your gorgeous green eyes. We couldn't go wrong."

"Are you my girlfriend then now? Because if we're having the future kid talk that kind of crosses into the next stage of a serious relationship."

"We've been in a semi-serious relationship for a while, Chaton. I don't see this as much of a stretch."

"Understood," he grinned exhuberantly, "Would you be my girlfriend exclusively then? Mine all mine?"

She buried her face into his chest to hide her blush, but nodded vigorously. He chuckled and wrapped his other arm around her into a real hug.

"Do you think we'll ever be big again?" she whispered.

"I do," he nodded, "Why? What are you thinking?"

"I'd like to tell my parents I love them," she sighed.

"Yeah, I'd like to be big again, too."

"So you can tell your dad you love him?" she smirked. It was no secret Adrien and Gabriel had a strained relationship.

"No. So I can push you off the Eiffel Tower," he grumbled.

"Hey now!!" she pushed him away and crossed her arms in a pout, "Why?"

"So I can jump after you and pretend I'm saving your life," he smirked, "Damsels in distress and all that romantic stuff."

"You're such a dork," she laughed and leaned back into him. She nuzzled her cheek against his chest and hummed, "A delightfully comfortable dork."

They finished watching The Proposal. Well, by 'finished watching' they woke up during the credits. They had determined that they needed to turn the app off or the phone battery would die, but neither Marinette nor Adrien wanted to move. The problem with their shared rag is they'd _both_ have to move to turn the phone off.

"No," Marinette whined.

"Rochambeau," he held his hands out.

"Seriously? What are we doing this for?"

"See who has to go turn the phone off."

"Okay?" she was confused.

"Naked," he added with a waggle of his eyebrows.

 _Oh._ Now she knew where he was going with this. One of them would have to leave their little nest to turn off the device.

"I'm not losing this, Chaton," she smirked.

"You want to see me again in all my bare glory?"

"Absolutely," she smirked.

Adrien gulped. Not the answer he'd anticipated. "I see." Then he licked his lips, "Well, I'd kind of like to see you all the same. If I'm being honest, I am not the most modest person, thanks to my years of modeling. We could always work something out if you lose to make it worth your while."

Marinette giggled, "So this is just a way for you to get another glimpse of me. Is that what I'm hearing?"

"Yeah, mostly," he shrugged, "I'm all about that ulterior motive."

Rock-paper-scissors-shoot. Matches went--Adrien, Marinette, Marinette.

"Damn!" Adrien exclaimed after he lost his second rochambeau bout. "I guess that means I'm going."

"Two out of three was our deal."

"Fine!" he shouted and boldly launched himself up out of the blanket, "I'll go."

"ADRIEN?!" she shrieked as she covered her eyes.

"What? This is your prize," he gestured to himself, "Might as well enjoy it. Truly, I don't mind; especially since you've already looked." He waggled his eyes at her, but she couldn't see.

Marinette peeked through her fingers and held her hand up to block him from the waist down, "I can't believe you...you're so..."

"Charming? Chiseled? Dashing?"

"Shameless!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

"Ah, well," he blushed and walked over to turn off the phone, "You are my girlfriend now. I mean, I'm not the greatest at reading people or situations, but I thought maybe we'd be able to joke a little--"

"Cute butt," she wolf whistled at him and his fears that he'd crossed a line dissipated.

He jerked his head to glare at her and grinned, "I work hard for that."

Marinette cackled as Adrien turned and charged, diving back into the blanket.

"Enough showing off your tush?" she asked with mock disappointment.

"Only if you're done gawking at it," he grinned.

"Never," she shook her head.

He reached out and held her to his chest, "You're such a wonderful girl, Mari. I really thought I was screwing this up already and somehow you just make everything right again. How do you do that?"

"I have a talent at being awkward, I guess. I mean, it takes one to know one and I know awkward. I can fix awkward. I mean...never mind."

"You can fix _my_ awkward," he nuzzled her hair and pressed a kiss there, "and _that_ is truly amazing!"

"I'm glad you appreciate it."


	3. Chapter 3

Tikki and Plagg returned with Adrien's cell phone. While he was busy tapping out responses to his frantic father and his assistant Marinette requested a sock from Tikki. Alya and Nino had given her a great idea.

"Just bring me one of the ankle socks," she asked her, "And a pair of those tiny sewing scissors."

Tikki's eyes glowed brightly, "I think I know where you're going with this."

By the time Adrien was done putting out his own proverbial fires, Marinette was done making them both tube sock garments. Tikki brought her a pair of black and green socks. Marinette cut a hole in the toe and two little holes, one on either side. Marinette slipped hers on, pushing her head through the toe hole and slipping her arms out the side. It looked like a little tube dress and would work until her other outfit was dry.

She approached Adrien quietly, not wanting to interrupt. He was facing away from her at a 45 degree angle. She could see his upper torso where it peeked out of the towel they'd been sharing. His muscles rippled above the ribs on his back, his arms were well defined, especially his deltoids, and she could just make out the profile of his abdominals.

_Cool your tits, Marinette._

"I realize this isn't optimal, Nathalie, but I didn't ask to be zapped by that akuma." He sighed exasperatedly, "Of course you were able to walk past him without a problem. You're an adult. Tell Father I'm sorry and I'll be back when I'm back to normal. Salut."

"Trouble in paradise?" She asked as she walked up behind him. He opened his arms to her and her heart fluttered happily in her chest. 

"Hardly paradise," he smirked. She sat and allowed him to pull her close, "Nice rag! You really wear it the best."

"I made you something," she blushed, "An outfit of sorts out of a sock...like this. Alya and Nino actually gave me the idea."

He grinned, "Oh really now?!" His arms tightened around her and he waggled his eyebrows, "And what if I prefer to go all natural?"

She gulped and stared wide eyed at him. She knew he was Chat, but she just couldn't get over those sort of suggestions coming out of Adrien's mouth.

"I'm kidding!" he laughed, "Kind of. I mean, I'll wear it. Where is it?"

She ran off to retrieve the bright green sock. It had black cats on it.

Marinette rolled her eyes when his face lit up, "Does yours match?"

"It does," she nodded and opened the rag she was wearing. Underneath she had on a bright green sock with black stars. Adrien bit his lip and an excited squeal escaped. "I take it you like it?"

He stood up and Marinette forced herself to maintain eye contact as the towel dropped around his ankles. Although, it was in vain, as he ran forward and picked her up off the ground to spin her around excitedly. "You're so cute!!"

"Uh, thanks." The sock she'd made had fallen unceremoniously to the ground and pooled around their feet. "Aren't you going to try it on?"

He set her down and grinned, "Of course!" With a quick dip, he picked it up and held it out to her, "Would you do the honors?"

She took the sock and he held his hands up for her to slip it over his head. Marinette stood on her tiptoes and could barely reach his elbows where his arms were extended. It seemed like he had stepped up on his toes at the same time she had, but she didn't dare look to find out. "Gah! You're too tall."

He smirked, "You could always climb up there, bugaboo. I'm sure you could."

"I believe climbing is your thing, Chaton."

"That's a shame." He clicked his tongue and sighed. "Fine, I'll make it easy on you." He slipped his hands into the sock and let her pull it down over his head. She was extra sure she pulled it down past his thighs. Although, she couldn't resist smoothing her hands over the front of his thighs just to fluster him a bit. Oh, boy did that work. He gulped, "Uh, it feels nice."

"I'm glad." She wrapped her arms around his chest and sighed, "What are we going to do, Adrien?"

He knew what she was referring to. The akuma was still out there and they were still tiny. There was no use, really, trying to figure it out. There had to be a solution, but how could they find it?

"I might have an idea," Tikki perked up from outside the house. Plagg tensed and grimaced as he looked over at her. It appeared they'd been discussing options. "We could do a reverse."

"A reverse?!" Marinette had never heard of this before.

"Plagg and I could wear the miraculous and we would transform by absorbing the energy of our chosen instead of the other way around."

"It's dangerous and I don't like it," Plagg lamented, "It's ridiculous, really."

"What would that do?" Marinette asked.

"Well, we'd have to make sure you were both well rested and fed," Tikki continued, "But we'd be like bigger humanoid versions of ourselves; think children."

"You'd look like a bug and he'd still look like a cat?"

"Yes," Tikki nodded, "Except..."

"There's a chance that when we detransform you might retain powers from the transformation."

"Permanently," Tikki nodded.

Adrien and Marinette's eyes widened.

"Would that weaken the miraculous?" Adrien gaped.

"NO!" Plagg snickered, "No, no, no, think of it as a math problem. You have energy, right? So YOUR energy becomes OUR energy."

"Then when we switch back the energy you produce might manifest as miraculous energy," Tikki finished.

Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other. What did that mean?

"What kind of powers are we talking?"

"Uh..." Tikki glanced over to Plagg who gestured for her to continue, "Well, we've done this once before. The Ladybug wielder could heal wounds with her touch. The Cat, um, he could...Plagg?"

Plagg grinned, "He had the ability to sicken." It was one of his favorite discoveries as a kwami. It wasn't a power his chosen had at the moment, and not one he could provide, but it was a nice unexpected side-effect.

"Sicken people? On purpose?!" Adrien exclaimed, "I don't know if I'd want to do that."

"Oh, come on, kid. You'll be in full control, I promise, and it's a lot of fun. Say you want to get out of a test, or get your old man off your back. You just touch him and suddenly he feels like he needs a sick day. It's no big deal."

"Then why don't you like it?"

"I'm the one doing all the work. Why else?"

Adrien glared at Marinette, "Why do you always get all the good stuff?"

"Just lucky, I guess," she winked. He stuck his tongue out at her.

This was a big decision. The idea of permanently altering their physical make up in favor of defeating an akuma was intense. Marinette felt a little uneasy about it. Adrien was ready to do whatever he needed to beat it and get back to semi-normal. Any semblance of his past normality was worth it. It wasn't like he _had_ to make people feel ill.

"Let's do it," Adrien turned to Plagg and nodded, "I want to try."

Tikki nodded and looked over to Marinette, "Do you want to try it?"

"Yes," Marinette nodded, "But Tikki? Do I have any way of knowing what is going on? What will happen?"

Tikki fidgeted slightly, "You'll have the abilities that I have, Marinette. You will be able to feel my intentions and emotions, but you don't really have the ability to change them. You're going to get tired while I'm transformed the more I use your energy and then when we're done you'll feel like you need to sleep for days and be starving to boot."

"Oh," she frowned. It made Marinette feel sad to think that Tikki was always there for her even though kwamis didn't get anything in return. They were the unsung heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir got all the attention and love, but the kwamis were the real heroes. It wasn't fair. "So as a kwami you just get used all the time."

"For the greater good!!" Tikki exclaimed, "It is worth it, Marinette. It all is."

She nodded. This was something she could do for Tikki. It would be helpful to know how Tikki feels. "Okay. Let's do it. We should head to bed then, huh, Tikki?"

"Yes. And tomorrow eat whatever sounds good. You need all the energy you can get."

"Your dad's croissants!" Adrien exclaimed happily.

"What about you, bug?" Plagg asked.

"I actually feel like scrambled eggs sound good...with extra salt. I'll see how I feel tomorrow."

"Sounds good! Now go to sleep!!"

* * *

Adrien crawled across the little doll bed and patted the spot next to him. It was pretty small so they'd have to squeeze to sleep without falling out of the bed. Marinette slipped in next to him and Tikki quickly wrapped a scarf around them.

"WHAT?!" Marinette tensed and Adrien wrapped his arms around her.

"It's to keep us from rolling out. Although, I don't think we'll have any trouble sticking together tonight, eh, My Lady?" He winked and Marinette blushed.

"Prob-bably not," she nodded.

"I've got you," he wrapped his arms around her and sighed, "I could get used to this."

Marinette leaned into him and sighed. Honestly, she could get used to this, too. He smelled different, after their shower, but not in a bad way. It was like she could smell what Adrien actually smelled like. He had a buttery herbed scent to him and it made her feel content instantly.

As if thinking the same thing he pressed his nose to the top of her head and breathed deeply. He hummed happily and Marinette could feel a shiver travel through him.

"You're smelling me?"

He stilled and gazed down at her bashfully, "Sorry. You smell different."

"How so?" She was curious now. He smelled different, too, but she liked it. What did she smell like and what did he think?

"Sweet," he leaned forward and breathed in again, "Like strawberry and lemon blossoms."

"Oh," she burrowed her face into his chest, "You smell different, too, but you're more earthy and warm."

He chuckled, "We're so weird."

"I know," she winced internally. They really were weird.

"I love it," he grinned and squeezed her tighter, "It just means we were meant to be."

She grinned to herself and bit her lip to suppress a happy squeal. They were pretty perfect together, weren't they? "Me, too," she nodded.

"Sweet dreams, Marinette." He placed a sweet kiss to the top of her head.

She snuggled deeper against him and yawned, "Sweet dreams, Adrien. See you in the morning."

The kwamis snuggled up with each other in front of the doll house. Adrien and Marinette curled around each other in much the same way. That night they got the best sleep they'd had in ages. No alarm clocks, no school, no expectations. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, but tonight, they had each other and that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> Too many fics!!! Thank you for reading and your patience with me. :)


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